Glad Zeke Elliott Not Hurt In Accident — But What If You Are?

Photo courtesy of TMZ Sportse Won’t Need Injury Lawyer. But Will You If You Are Crashed Into?

The Cowboys just need to win two games to play in Super Bowl LI in Houston. But this Sunday’s game against the Packers and the following week’s against either Seattle or Atlanta will be tough.

That’s why we all got nervous when we heard that the rookie sensation Ezekiel Elliott had wrecked his truck Wednesday morning. The star running back was involved in a very minor rear-end collision near the Cowboy’s Frisco practice facility at Dallas Parkway and Gaylord Parkway.

The vehicles showed little if any damage, as you can see. Both were driven from the scene, an ambulance was not called, and no one reported any injuries.

Of course, Elliott is in incredible physical shape, has played football almost his whole life, and is used to his body getting slammed into. As he tweeted afterwards: “I’ve been in bigger collisions. Lol.”

What About The Rest Of Us?

However the other 99.99% of the world isn’t used to being collided into and isn’t in the same kind of physical condition. Getting hit by a car or truck weighing 3,000 to 6,000 pounds sometimes at a speed of up to 70 MPH isn’t going to hurt as much if you’re the top running back in the NFL.

We all have to get into our cars and trucks and drive around our spread-out North Texas area each day and our chances of being in an automobile accident are better than you might think. There were a whopping 80,000 crashes in Dallas and Tarrant Counties in 2015, or 221 a day.

Nobody ever thinks they’re going to be in a collision or get hurt. Until they are. That’s when they call a personal injury lawyer for help.

What if it’s only a minor accident claim?

Fortunately, many collisions are at low speed or between large trucks and SUV’s and appear at least visually to be relatively minor. But there will still be issues that must be resolved involving payment for vehicle damage and possible injuries with the resulting medical bills and lost wages. To recoup these losses, you have to deal with insurance companies, and the procedures can be complicated and the adjusters tricky. They won’t offer you nearly as much money for your damages as you can get with skilled legal representation. I see people accepting offers of $500.00 and signing releases, only to regret their decision when physical injuries kick in.

When deciding whether to hire a personal injury attorney for a crash, consider these factors:

Is liability for the accident in dispute?

Were you seriously injured?

Did you incur medical bills?

Will you need to see a doctor in the future for your injuries?

Did your injuries result in loss of income?

Do you have health insurance, personal injury protection benefits, or other sources of money to pay for your expenses?

Is an insurance company delaying or refusing to pay you?

A lawyer is not a necessity to pursue minor damages in a clear liability, small impact case. Keep in mind that your case might not be as small as you may think, and you will get less money if you are not represented by an attorney. But sometimes, after you pay the lawyer’s fee, you may not get enough money to reimburse yourself for your outstanding medical bills, lost wages, and pain.

My firm doesn’t want this to happen and for this reason doesn’t get involved in minor impact, minor injury cases but we are happy to give tips on how you can represent yourself.

What you should do

After you have finished your medical treatment, submit all your medical records, medical bills, lost wage information, and other damage information to the other driver’s insurance company. Negotiate a settlement. If you believe the company’s offer is inadequate, file a lawsuit in small claims court, where you can easily handle your own case. Here’s the web site for Tarrant County residents with more info.

If you have questions, talk to an injury lawyer. We offer free case evaluations and will tell you if your case requires legal representation.